US20080167816A1 - Portable Position Determining Device - Google Patents
Portable Position Determining Device Download PDFInfo
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- US20080167816A1 US20080167816A1 US12/036,913 US3691308A US2008167816A1 US 20080167816 A1 US20080167816 A1 US 20080167816A1 US 3691308 A US3691308 A US 3691308A US 2008167816 A1 US2008167816 A1 US 2008167816A1
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- object locator
- base station
- location
- controller
- transceiver
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
- G01S5/0009—Transmission of position information to remote stations
- G01S5/0018—Transmission from mobile station to base station
- G01S5/0027—Transmission from mobile station to base station of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S19/00—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems; Determining position, velocity or attitude using signals transmitted by such systems
- G01S19/01—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
- G01S19/13—Receivers
- G01S19/14—Receivers specially adapted for specific applications
- G01S19/16—Anti-theft; Abduction
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S19/00—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems; Determining position, velocity or attitude using signals transmitted by such systems
- G01S19/01—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
- G01S19/13—Receivers
- G01S19/14—Receivers specially adapted for specific applications
- G01S19/17—Emergency applications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S19/00—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems; Determining position, velocity or attitude using signals transmitted by such systems
- G01S19/01—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
- G01S19/13—Receivers
- G01S19/34—Power consumption
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
- G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
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- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B21/00—Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
- G08B21/02—Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
- G08B21/0202—Child monitoring systems using a transmitter-receiver system carried by the parent and the child
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B21/00—Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
- G08B21/02—Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
- G08B21/0202—Child monitoring systems using a transmitter-receiver system carried by the parent and the child
- G08B21/0241—Data exchange details, e.g. data protocol
- G08B21/0247—System arrangements wherein the alarm criteria uses signal strength
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B21/00—Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
- G08B21/02—Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
- G08B21/0202—Child monitoring systems using a transmitter-receiver system carried by the parent and the child
- G08B21/0261—System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden
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- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B21/00—Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
- G08B21/02—Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
- G08B21/0202—Child monitoring systems using a transmitter-receiver system carried by the parent and the child
- G08B21/0269—System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S19/00—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems; Determining position, velocity or attitude using signals transmitted by such systems
- G01S19/01—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
- G01S19/13—Receivers
- G01S19/35—Constructional details or hardware or software details of the signal processing chain
- G01S19/36—Constructional details or hardware or software details of the signal processing chain relating to the receiver frond end
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S2205/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
- G01S2205/001—Transmission of position information to remote stations
- G01S2205/008—Transmission of position information to remote stations using a mobile telephone network
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
- Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
- Remote Sensing (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Child & Adolescent Psychology (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Emergency Management (AREA)
- Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
- Economics (AREA)
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Abstract
A position determining device is disclosed comprising a satellite navigation receiver for automatically providing computed position information, when the device has changed its position relative to a predetermined location, to a paging transmitter for transmission to a paging receiver for readout of the computed position information. The readout may be in the form of coordinates and may be accompanied by a message or alarm. The device may be configured as a portable unit of small size and economical manufacture.
Description
- The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/446,318 filed Jun. 2, 2006, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/292,888 filed Nov. 11, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,113,126, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/860,375 filed May 18, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,480,147, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/678,571 filed Oct. 3, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,778 which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/362,788 filed Jul. 28, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,640 which claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/140,040 filed Jun. 18, 1999.
- The present disclosure pertains generally to electronic locating devices for determining the location or position of a pet or an object, and more particularly, a device for determining the location or position of a pet by utilizing the capabilities of two-way paging systems and satellite navigation systems.
- Tracking the location of an individual or an object or even an animal such as a domesticated animal or a pet that can move in unknown directions over a considerable range of territory has been a concern for a number of years. A number of systems have been proposed which employ existing wireless communication capabilities but which tend to be cumbersome, bulky, expensive or all of the above. With the advent of satellite navigation systems such as the global positioning system (GPS) services in the U.S.A. or the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) in Russia, it has been possible to provide relatively inexpensive location systems for determining the location of a moving object. This type of system has typically been utilized on trucks to provide location information for companies that have large fleets of trucks in use at any one particular time. The position of an individual truck is determined by coincident reception of signals from at least three navigation satellites by a satellite navigation system receiver, which position can then be stored or can be transmitted to a central receiving station via some sort of wireless link. Moreover, the wireless link can be a two-way communication link wherein the positioning information is only transmitted in response to receiving a request. One disadvantage, particularly in a small, portable unit, is that the satellite navigation system receiver that much be included in a locating device requires the use of substantial electrical energy during the period in which the location information is being acquired and developed from the GPS system. Further, a small portable object locator, in addition to minimizing the use of electrical power while being subject to less than ideal orientations to enable quick and efficient location by the GPS system, must also be very simple and easy to use.
- In one embodiment, a locating device is disclosed for attachment to an animal and adapted to obtain and communicate location information about the animal to a fixed or mobile base station, comprising a controller having a memory, an input for location data and a first communication port; a satellite navigation system receiver coupled to a first antenna and having a location data output coupled to the location data input of said controller; a communication transceiver coupled to a second antenna to receive and transmit communications between the locating device and the base station and having a second communication port coupled to the first communication port of the controller; and a housing to enclose the controller, the satellite navigation system receiver and communication transceiver, configured to be attached to the animal. The controller upon activation operates automatically to obtain location data from the satellite navigation system receiver via the location data output, store the location data in the memory and cause the location data to be accessed from the memory, coupled to the communication transceiver and transmitted to the base station.
- In another aspect the controller in the locating device is adapted to become activated when the locating device is secured to the animal, power is coupled to the locating device and the animal passes a perimeter enclosing an area. The perimeter is specified by one or a plurality of coordinate positions defined by the location data obtained by the locating device.
- In another aspect a system is disclosed for locating a mobile object beyond a designated area comprising a wireless bidirectional communication system, a first transceiver operable as a fixed or mobile base station in said communication system to receive and display location information and transmit commands, and a locating device attached to the mobile object and operable as a mobile station in said communication system to respond to the commands and, upon activation, to obtain location information and transmit it to the first transceiver.
- In another aspect of the present disclosure, the operation of enabling the satellite navigation system receiver in the object locator may be controlled by duty cycle controls which activate the satellite navigation system receiver to periodically check the location of the animal or object. Upon determining that the animal or object is outside a specified perimeter designating an area, a message signifying such location is automatically transmitted to a base station.
- In another aspect a position determining device is disclosed comprising a satellite navigation receiver for automatically providing computed position information, when the device has changed its position relative to a predetermined location, to a paging transmitter for transmission to a paging receiver for readout of the computed position information. The readout may be in the form of coordinates and may be accompanied by a message or alarm. The device may be configured as a portable unit of small size and economical manufacture.
- For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings in which:
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FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an object locator system of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 2 illustrates a pictorial example of an object locator according to the present disclosure; -
FIGS. 3 a-3 c illustrate a pictorial drawing of an object locator supported by a collar according to the present disclosure; -
FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of the object locator of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of the operation of the object locator generally; -
FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of the operation of the object locator subject to an additional external control; -
FIG. 6 a illustrates the operation of an alternate embodiment of the object locator ofFIG. 6 ; -
FIG. 6 b illustrates the operation of another alternate embodiment of the object locator ofFIG. 6 ; -
FIG. 7 illustrates a pictorial drawing of a range dependent enablement system used to provide external control for the object locator; -
FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a base station that may be used with the object locator of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of a base station that may be used with the object locator of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of the operation of the object locator system of the present disclosure in obtaining location data via two-way paging; and -
FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the object locator ofFIG. 4 . - Referring now to
FIG. 1 , there is illustrated a system block diagram of one embodiment of the object locator of the present disclosure. InFIG. 1 , theobject locator system 10 includes a two-way paging system 12, a satellite navigation system shown as aGPS system 50 and theobject locator 42. While the described embodiment shows a GPS system for illustrative purposes, it is intended to function with other satellite navigation systems such as, for example, the Russian GLONASS system, which provide location information in the vicinity of the earth. The two-way paging system 12 is a conventional paging system that is well known in the art, for example, such as illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,056 issued Jun. 6, 1995 to Lindquist, et al. and entitled ADAPTIVE CELLULAR PAGING SYSTEM, which patent is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The two-way paging system 12 interacts with abase station 18 over atransmit path 14 and areceive path 16. Thebase station 18, which may also be called a host, designating the position of a system user, may be a two-way pager and may include a telephone or a keyboard or the like or may have aninput 20 for receiving a dialed-in telephone number from telephone set 24 alongcommunications path 22 or from wireless telephone set 25 overcommunications path 31. Theinput 20 is responsive to dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones transmitted bytelephone set 24. Theinput 23 is responsive to digital signals transmitted overpath 21 from akey array 13.Base station 18 further has anoutput 26 from which location data to be displayed travels alongpath 28 to display 30.Display 30 may be configured to display location information in any of several forms, for example, text, figures, graphics, or numbers. - Continuing with
FIG. 1 , theobject locator system 10 of the present disclosure includes anobject locator 42. In one of its operational modes, as a two-way paging transceiver,object locator 42 includes aninput 40 coupled to anantenna 36 alongcable 38 for receiving signals transmitted by two-way paging system 12 alongpath 32 and for transmitting paging signals to the two-way paging system 12 alongpath 34. Theobject locator 42 also includes aninput 44 for receiving from aGPS system 50 location information signals alongpath 52 to be intercepted byantenna 48 and conducted to theobject locator 42 alongpath 46 to input 44. TheGPS system 50 is of a conventional design well known in the art, an example of which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,660 issued Mar. 10, 1998 to Purdy, et al. and entitled PERSONAL DATA COLLECT7ONAND RECORDING SYSTEM, which patent is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Alternatively, location information signals may be received from the GLONASS satellite system or any other satellite navigation system providing location information by the use of a receiving system configured for such reception. - The resulting paging transmit signal is transmitted from
port 19 toantenna 15 throughpath 17 and further transmitted along transmitpath 14 to the two-way paging system 12. The two-way paging system 12 relays the paging message via transmitpath 32 to theantenna 36 coupled to theobject locator 42. As will be described in more detail hereinbelow, theobject locator 42 processes the request for location information transmitted bybase station 18, obtains location information from the globalpositioning satellite system 50 and transmits a response containing the location information fromantenna 36 alongpath 34 to the two-way paging system 12 which, in turn, relays the location information signal alongpath 16 toantenna 15 of thebase station 18 for processing and display ondisplay 30.Multiple object locators 42 may be in individual communication withbase station 18 by virtue of each object locator having a specific electronic address. Alternatively, eachobject locator 42 may be assigned multiple addresses. One address may be unique to the specific locator while at least one additional address may be identical for all locators communicating with the base station whereby the base station may send simultaneous messages to multiple object locators. Alternatively,wireless paths antenna 15 may instead each comprise a standard telephone connection to a central office. In another embodiment ofFIG. 1 , thebase station 18 communicates directly over a wireless path with a compatible communications transceiver included in theobject locator 42. Such a system is described further in conjunction withFIG. 11 . - In another aspect of the invention, the
object locator 42 is initialized by the user to define one or more geographic coordinates to define an area such as a yard. Only one position need be defined for a small area and only the corners of a large area need be defined, thus conserving memory requirements. The locator device is then attached to the animal. Theobject locator 42 is adapted to become operational when theobject locator 42 device is secured to the animal and power is coupled to theobject locator 42 thereby allowing reception of GPS location information. Theobject locator 42 may be set to monitor location signals continuously or periodically or selectively by a predetermined program. When the locating device and the animal pass a perimeter enclosing the defined area, theobject locator 43 is activated to initiate a message to thebase station 18 as will be described hereinbelow. - Referring now to
FIG. 2 , there is illustrated a pictorial drawing of anobject locator 42 of the illustrative embodiment as it may be typically configured with a two-way paging antenna 36 and a GPS receiveantenna 48. The two-way paging antenna 36 is coupled to theobject locator package 37 alongcable 38 to aninput 40 on theobject locator package 37. Similarly, the GPS receiveantenna 48 is coupled along acable 46 to aninput 44 on theobject locator package 37. The two-way paging antenna 36 shown inFIG. 2 is intended to represent the fact that this antenna in theobject locator 42 is typically of the type found with two-way paging equipment. Such an antenna is typically mounted internal to the pager unit itself and is thereby necessarily of very small dimension. However, there may be applications of theobject locator 42 of the present disclosure which may be optimized by the use of an external antenna such as shown inFIG. 2 . Thus, the illustration of the two-way paging antenna 36 inFIG. 2 is not intended to be limiting, but merely illustrative. The GPS receiveantenna 48 is conventionally referred to as a “patch antenna” because of its flat, thin, rectangular shaped design. Typically such a patch antenna is intended to be disposed on an upward, relatively level surface in order to expose it to receive the relatively weak signals transmitted by the globalpositioning satellite system 50 from the satellites arrayed in theGPS system 50. The illustration inFIG. 2 thus demonstrates that both of the antennae used in the system may be positioned for optimal reception and transmission and connected to theobject locator package 37 using theflexible cables way paging antennae 36 and the GPS receiveantenna 48. Aswitch 55 may be provided on theobject locator 42 for activating or deactivating theobject locator 42. - An alpha-
numeric display 41 may be included on theobject locator package 37 to allow information stored inmemory 68 to be viewed. To conserve space, thedisplay 41 may allow a limited number of characters to be viewed at one time. A readout control switch 47 associated withdisplay 41 is operable to allow successive viewing of a sequence of data items or scrolling through lines of data. Similarly, atest button 43 is provided to allow the user to manually actuateobject locator 42 to send a message tobase station 18 thereby testing the communication links 34 and 16. - In use, the
object locator 42 will likely be exposed to a variety of environmental conditions including exposure to water and temperature extremes. Accordingly, thepackage 37 containing the electronic circuitry should be resistant to water ingress to the electronic circuitry. The circuitry within the package should be designed for operation under wide temperature variations. Mechanisms for accomplishing such protection are well known in the art and will not be described here. - Referring now to
FIGS. 3 a, 3 b and 3 c, there is illustrated a pictorial drawing of anobject locator 42 mounted on the lower side of acollar 45. Such acollar 45 is configured for supporting anobject locator 42 around the body or neck of an animal which is intended to be tracked or located by theobject locator 10 of the present disclosure. It will be observed that theGPS antenna 48 is attached to the collar diametrically opposite the position of the object locator. This is intentional as will be described hereinbelow. The object locator is coupled to theGPS antenna 48 through acable 46 which connects to theinput 44 of theobject locator 42. This arrangement is illustrated inFIG. 3 a and may be more clearly shown by looking at the cross section 3 b-3 b illustrated inFIG. 3 b. In Section 3 b-3 b, a side view of the object locator mounted on a collar is shown whereincollar 45 supports theobject locator 42 at its lower point and supports theGPS antenna 48 at its diametrically opposite upper point. As before, theGPS antenna 48 is coupled throughcable 46 to input 44 of theobject locator 42. Similarly, a side view identified bycross section 3 c-3 c inFIG. 3 c shows the opposite side of the collar-mountedobject locator 42 assembly. InSection 3 c-3 c there is shown thecollar 45 which supports theobject locator 42 at its lower end and the patch antenna orGPS antenna 48 at its diametrically opposite upper end. Also shown in theSection 3 c-3 c is a representation of the two-way paging antenna 36 which is coupled to input 40 of theobject locator 42. It will be appreciated that many configurations are possible for arranging or attaching the object locator and its antennae to thecollar 45, including enclosing the GPS receiveantenna 48 inside thecollar 45 or consolidating the locator and antenna as a unit mounted on or in the collar. Alternatively, the locator and antenna may be distributively arranged on or in the collar. However, it will also be appreciated that the greater mass of theobject locator 42 relative to the mass of theGPS antenna 48 and the fact that they are mounted on diametrically opposite sides of thecollar 45 enables theobject locator 42 to remain in the lowest possible position while the GPS receiving antenna remains in the highest possible position to optimize the reception from theGPS system 50, though it is not imperative that theGPS antenna 48 remain in the highest possible position in alternative embodiments, theGPS antenna 48 may be positioned within or around thecollar 45 or integrated with thepager antenna 36. - Continuing with
FIGS. 3 a-3 c, a mechanism such as a clasp or buckle arrangement (not shown inFIGS. 3 a-3 c) may be provided to permit thecollar 45 to be opened and closed for securing the collar around the neck or body of the animal to be tracked or located. Such clasp or buckle may be electrically integrated with the collar and the electronic circuitry, e.g. constructed with an interlock, such that initial mating of the clasp or buckle will activate operation of theobject locator 42. Any subsequent opening of the clasp or buckle may initiate an alarm message to the base station indicating deactivation of theobject locator 42 except when a message sent to theobject locator 42 by thebase station 18 caused a previous, intentional deactivation. In an alternate embodiment theobject locator 42 may be deactivated by a signal from thebase station 18, allowing thecollar 45 to be removed without causing an alarm indication. In another embodiment, acollar activating switch 55 may be imbedded in thecollar 45 or located on theobject locator 42 attached to thecollar 45. Asecurity device 49, preferably a flexible metal cable represented by the dashed line inFIGS. 3 a, 3 b and 3 c, which is coupled electrically to the buckle or clasp and throughports locator 42, provides a closed electrical circuit when the clasp or buckle of thecollar 45 closed. Cutting or otherwise breakingsecurity device 49 will causeobject locator 42 to immediately initiate a preformatted message alerting the user of the security break. Theobject locator 42 may also be activated upon closing the clasp or buckle when placing thecollar 45 around the body of the animal or other object to be tracked or located. A manual test of thecommunication link object locator 42 and thebase station 18 may be actuated by manually operatedswitch 43. To perform the test, actuation ofswitch 43 causes the controller to send a preformatted message stored inmemory 68 within theobject locator 42 overcommunication link base station 18. The features described hereinabove are intended to be illustrative and many configurations are possible that will be apparent to those skilled in the art. - Referring now to
FIG. 4 , there is illustrated a block diagram for theobject locator 42 of theobject locator system 10 of the present disclosure. Apaging receiver 60 is shown coupling adata output 62 alongpath 64 to an input ofcontroller 66.Controller 66 includes amemory 68 for the storage of location data and abattery 70 for powering theobject locator 42. Thisbattery 70 is, in the present disclosure, a rechargeable battery. Thisbattery 70 can be a NiCad battery, a Lithium battery or any rechargeable battery, though one-use batteries may also be used. Asolar cell 71 and associated charging circuitry (not shown) is provided for charging thebattery 70.Controller 66 includes acontrol output 72 which is coupled alongpath 74 to acontrol input 76 ofpaging receiver 60. Pagingreceiver 60 receives paging communications viaantenna 36R which are coupled alongcable 38R toRF input 40R ofpaging receiver 60. - Continuing with
FIG. 4 , there is shown aGPS receiver 78 for which provision is made to couple location data at anoutput 80 alongpath 82 to aninput terminal 84 ofcontroller 66.GPS receiver 7 further includes an enable input which is coupled fromcontroller 66 atoutput 86 alongpath 88 to the enableinput 90 of theGPS receiver 78. TheGPS receiver 78 receives GPS signals from the globalpositioning satellite system 50 atantenna 48 which signals are coupled alongpath 46 toRF input 44 of theGPS receiver 78. - Further illustrated in
FIG. 4 is apaging transmitter 92 which is configured to transmit the location data provided bycontroller 66 atoutput 98 alongpath 96 to thedata input 94 ofpaging transmitter 92.Controller 66 also provides an enable output atoutput 100 alongpath 102 to the enableinput 104 ofpaging transmitter 92. Thepaging transmitter 92, when enabled, transmits data received at thedata input 94 and couples the signal to be transmitted from the output terminal 401 alongpath 38T to the paging transmitter antenna 361 for radiation to the two-way paging system 12. It will be appreciated that the paging system components, while shown as separate functional elements inFIG. 4 , may in fact be integrated into a single two-way paging transceiver which share a common antenna represented byreference number 36. The illustration shown inFIG. 4 is intended to provide clarity as to the signal paths that operate during the communication relationship of theobject locator 42 with the two-way paging system 12. A number of configurations for coupling the antenna to the paging transceiver are feasible, are well known in the art and will not be described further herein. - Continuing with
FIG. 4 , there is shown a block labeled “signal detector” 106 having anoutput 108 which is coupled alongpath 110 to an enableinput 112 ofcontroller 66. Thesignal detector 106 represents any of several optional devices which may enable the more precise control of theobject locator 42 by limiting the operation of theobject locator 42 to certain external conditions outside the paging communications or the GPS reception areas by theobject locator 42. In the illustrative example shown inFIG. 4 , thesignal detector 106 provides an output whenever a threshold is crossed by signal energy received from an independent source, e.g., a beacon. This threshold may represent a predetermined perimeter beyond which theobject locator 42 is enabled to operate and within which a position of the object locator would probably provide no useful information because the object locator may be within line of sight to the base station. Other thresholds may be expressed in terms of time or altitude or as an azimuth heading or simply an area defined by the uncertainty statistics of the position reported by GPS. Alternatively, theobject locator 42 may be programmed for operating an alarm or automatically transmitting location information to a base station when theobject locator 42 moves outside a perimeter. Such perimeter may be programmed by physically positioning theobject locator 42 at extremes of an area and, while theGPS receiver 78 is operating, storing in the object locator'smemory 68 the coordinates reported, thus establishing a boundary outside of which theobject locator 42 will automatically report a position. Additionally, the perimeter may be defined by at least one coordinate stored in theobject locator memory 68. The perimeter is then determined by selecting stored algorithms to define the limits of a circular or other geometrical shape outside of which theobject locator 42 will automatically report a position. - For example, the coordinate positions of the corners of a rectangular area may be obtained and stored. Each such position is an origin or center of a circle, the circle representing the GPS system error (position uncertainty, specified as a radius) of the location data provided by the
GPS system 50. The enclosed area is defined by establishing straight lines tangent to the outer arcs of each adjacent pair of circles along the intended area border. In a typical GPS system of current technology, the radius of the circle may be, for example, approximately 5 meters (or a little over 16 feet) for civilian applications. Thus, to specify a square area with sides approximately 25 meters apart (or about 80 feet) a user would position the object locator at the corners of the square located about 15 meters (about 48 feet) apart. Many other algorithms for specifying an enclosed area are of course possible. In another example, in some cases a circle of radius of 5 meters, equivalent to an enclosed, circular area of diameter equal to 10 meters may be appropriate. In such a case, a single coordinate position would suffice to specify the enclosed area, beyond which theobject locator 42, upon activation, automatically obtains location: of its current position outside the perimeter of the specified circle and reports it to the base station. The base station, in these examples, may simply be a pocket display pager carried by a user who may be within a specified circle (e.g., at the origin) or at some other location or even in motion with respect to the origin where the enclosed area is specified or with respect to the object locator. - Continuing with
FIG. 4 , it will be appreciated that each of the major functional blocks shown inFIG. 4 may be implemented singly or collectively into integrated circuit structure which may be configured to fit within a housing of very small dimensions. For example, a pocket pager that typically occupies a volume of approximately three to five cubic inches may weigh approximately four to six ounces. In a preferred embodiment, theGPS receiver 78, thecontroller 66, thepaging transmitter 92 and thepaging receiver 60 may be integrated into a single integrated circuit structure. Thecontroller 66 may comprise a single chip microprocessor or microcontroller or digital signal processor which may be programmed to provide a variety of functions and operational features. Such programs may be stored inmemory 68 for use by thecontroller 66 in controlling the operation of theobject locator 42. Thepaging receiver 60, thepaging transmitter 92 and theGPS receiver 78, while shown as functional blocks, in reality, each may have a number of complex functions incorporated therein. Thus, many configurations and functional operations are possible within the scope of the block diagram illustrated inFIG. 4 . The detailed description which follows will illustratively provide descriptions of some of the basic operational features of theobject locator system 10 of the present disclosure. One such feature represented by thesignal detector block 106 will be described hereinbelow in conjunction withFIG. 7 . - Referring now to
FIG. 5 , there is illustrated a flowchart for the operation of theobject locator 42 shown inFIG. 4 in the case where the user desires to determine the location of theobject locator 42. This circumstance may represent any number of user activities including an owner's efforts to determine the location of a pet dog or a pet cat, for example. Similarly, the operation illustrated inFIG. 5 may also include a situation where an owner desires to track versus time, an object to which theobject locator 42 is attached. Further, the flowchart ofFIG. 5 may also illustrate the situation when theobject locator 42 is attached to a person and it is desired to know the location of that person at some particular time or some other previous time as further described below. The flow begins atblock 202 with the start of the sequence of operations, which is followed bydecision block 204 in which theobject locator 42 seeks to determine whether a page requesting location information has been received by theinput 40 of the two-way paging receiver 60. If the result of this determination is in the negative, then the flow returns to the input of the decision block for a retry. If, however, the result of the query was affirmative, then the flow proceeds to block 206 in which theGPS receiver 78 is enabled to acquire the location coordinates of theobject locator 42 by receiving signals from the globalpositioning satellite system 50 illustrated inFIG. 1 . - Upon successfully acquiring the coordinates of the
object locator 42 and thus of the individual object or animal to which theobject locator 42 is attached, theobject locater 42 then operates to store the coordinate information inblock 208 by loading the coordinate information into thememory 68 of thecontroller 66 in theobject locator 42. Such coordinate information may be associated with a time stamp. Such time stamp, derived from the GPS satellite system, may then be stored inblock 208 for later retrieval. Additionally, such coordinate information may further be associated with other data such asobject locator 42 operational status or battery condition. The flow then proceeds fromblock 208, where the coordinates were stored in thememory 68, to block 210, wherein theobject locator 42 is configured to transmit the coordinates in response to the request received over the two-way paging system 12. The transmission of coordinates will occur in the opposite direction utilizing the same two-way paging system 12 over which the request for location coordinates was received inblock 204. Following the transmission of the coordinates inblock 210, the flow proceeds to atimer block 212 which provides a measured interval of time during which theobject locator 42 attempts to acquire the coordinates at the particular time from theGPS system 50. It is well known that a typical GPS system often takes a substantial amount of time to acquire location coordinate information from a sufficient number of satellites in order to fix the location of theobject locator 42 with a sufficient degree of precision. The time required involves receiving several signals under conditions which may vary widely from instant to instant, which impairs the ability of theGPS receiver 78 as shown inFIG. 4 to obtain complete location data to respond to the request received by thepaging receiver 60 in theobject locator 42. The time value represented by the timer operating inblock 212 may be on the order of five to ten minutes, for example. Inblock 212, if the timer has not reached the time-out value, then the flow returns to the input ofblock 206 where theobject locator 42 again attempts to acquire the coordinates from theGPS system 50. Returning to block 212, if the timer has reached its end value, then the flow proceeds fromblock 212 to block 214 where the routine ends.FIG. 5 thus illustrates a basic mode of operation of theobject locator 42. It will be appreciated that many variations on this basic operating mode are possible and may be used to enhance the operation of theobject locator 42. Such features may be programmed into thecontroller 66 of theobject locator 42. - Referring now to
FIG. 6 , there is illustrated a flowchart for the operation of theobject locator 42 in the circumstance where it is activated, in this illustrative example, to obtain location information from theGPS receiver 78 and transmit coordinates only when theobject locator 42 is in a position beyond a distance limit defining a designated area surrounding or relative to the base station or some other defined location such as an origin from which the request for location coordinates was initiated. The object locator is activated to transmit location coordinates when it is secured to the object, power is coupled to the object locator and the object locator passes the perimeter of a defined enclosed area. The object locator may also be activated to transmit location coordinates by remote command or query from a base station or periodically by a timer in the object locator controller. The flowchart inFIG. 6 also shows additional steps in the operational sequence which may be used to enable and disable theGPS receiver 78 within theobject locator 42. As was pointed out previously, theGPS receiver 78 is typically a device which requires substantial electrical power to operate. It is prudent to minimize the power drawn from theobject locator battery 70 inFIG. 4 by limiting the operating cycle of theGPS receiver 78. TheGPS receiver 78 in this example is permitted to become operational only long enough to obtain the coordinate information that is required by theobject locator 42. - Continuing with the flowchart of
FIG. 6 , the flow proceeds from start block 220 to adecision block 222 to determine whether theobject locator 42 has received a query from thebase station 18. If a query has not been received, such as occurs during an automatic mode or by command, the flow proceeds along the “N” path to atimer block 224 wherein theobject locator 42 may operate a timed sequence to periodically enable theGPS receiver 78 to acquire location coordinates whether or not a query is received from thebase station 18. When the timer ofblock 224 times out, the flow proceeds along the “Y” path to ablock 226 to enable theGPS receiver 78. Returning to decision block, 222, if theobject locator 42 did receive a query or command from thebase station 18, the automatic mode is overriden and the flow proceeds along the “Y” path to block 226 to enable theGPS receiver 78. - Continuing with
FIG. 6 , the flow in theobject locator 42 proceeds fromblock 226 to block 228 to acquire the coordinates of the location of theobject locator 42. Thereafter, the flow proceeds to decision block 229 to determine whether theobject locator 42 is beyond a predetermined perimeter with respect to thebase station 18 or other origin location which defines a designated area. In this illustrative example, the designated enclosed area surrounding thebase station 18 or origin defines an area in which operation of theobject locator 42 is inhibited because the object having theobject locator 42 attached thereto is in the immediate vicinity of thebase station 18 or is within the radius of uncertainty with respect to the origin as described hereinabove. Beyond the designated enclosed area theobject locator 42 automatically reports location data to thebase station 18. The predetermined perimeter distance limit or radius may typically be set, for example, to approximate the boundary of the residence of the owner of a pet animal, beyond which it is desired to obtain location information of the pet animal provided by an object locator 42 (or,pet locator 42 in this example) attached to the pet. If the result of the determination inblock 229 is negative, the flow proceeds along the “N” path to decision block 239 wherein a counter provides for a predetermined number of trials to establish whether theobject locator 42 is beyond the predetermined limit required inblock 229. When the counter inblock 239 completes the last count, the flow proceeds to ablock 241 when theobject locator 42 outputs a preformatted message to thebase station 18 that the object locator is still within the predetermined limit. Therefrom, the flow proceeds along the “Y” path to the input of the decision block. Returning now to decision block 229, if it is determined that theobject locator 42 is beyond the predetermined limit, meaning the coordinates are to be stored, the flow proceeds along the “Y,’ path to block 240 wherein a counter provides for a predetermined number of trials to establish whether theobject locator 42 is beyond the predetermined limit required inblock 229. When the counter inblock 240 completes the last count, the flow proceeds to block 230 to store and, in some cases, time stamp the location coordinates acquired from the GPS satellite during the step performed inblock 228. As before, the enable signal applied to the enableterminal 90 operates to awaken theGPS receiver 78 so that it may communicate with the GPS system and obtain location information coordinates for theobject locator 42. The flow proceeds fromblock 226 where theGPS receiver 78 is enabled to ablock 228 where theobject locator 42 acquires the coordinate information from the globalpositioning satellite system 50. - Continuing with
FIG. 6 , upon acquiring the coordinates of theobject locator 42 from theGPS receiver 78, thecontroller 66 within theobject locator 42 causes the location and time information to be stored in thememory 68 of theobject locator 42 in theoperational block 230 ofFIG. 6 . The flow then proceeds to ablock 232 where thecontroller 66 operates to disable theGPS receiver 78 such that it will no longer continue to drain power from the battery, until the next time that it is desired to acquire coordinate information from theGPS system 50. Following the disabling of theGPS receiver 78 inblock 232, the flow proceeds to ablock 234 wherein theobject locator 42 provides the location data onoutput terminal 98 alongpath 96 to thedata input 94 of thepaging transmitter 92. The location information is then transmitted via the two-way paging system 12 to thebase station 18 shown inFIG. 1 . The flow proceeds fromblock 234 following the transmission of the coordinate information to a time-out block 236 where a timer provides an interval of time in which theobject locator 42 is permitted to acquire the coordinate information from the GPS system, thus maximizing the opportunity to acquire the coordinates before theobject locator 42 becomes inactive. Here the time-out value may again typically be on the order of five to ten minutes, although the time duration may legitimately be any value that corresponds with the particular circumstances of use and, in fact, may be adjustable in some applications. In the event that the time-out value has not been reached inblock 236, the operation loops back around to the input ofblock 226 and enables theobject locator 42 to continue attempting to acquire the location information from the GPS system. In the event that the time-out value has been reached, then the flow proceeds along the “Y” path fromblock 236 back to the start of the sequence at the input to thedecision block 222 where theobject locator 42 is enabled to check whether theobject locator 42 is positioned beyond the predetermined limit as previously explained. - Referring now to
FIG. 6 a, there is illustrated a block diagram of a configuration that enables reporting the direction and rate of movement of the object to whichcollar 45 is attached. This embodiment is very similar to that shown inFIG. 6 and shares functional blocks which have the same function and reference numbers withFIG. 6 . Upon acquiring the coordinates of theobject locator 42 from theGPS receiver 78, thecontroller 66 within theobject locator 42 causes the location and time information to be stored inmemory 68 of theobject locator 42 in theoperational block 230 ofFIG. 6 a. The operational flow described inFIG. 6 a illustrates the operation in the case where the object locator is beyond the limit previously set as described hereinabove forFIG. 6 . Once an out of limit message is sent from theobject locator 42 to thebase station 18, the user may desire to know the direction and rate of movement of theobject locator 42. Determination of the direction and rate requires analysis of a sequence of information containing position coordinates and the time at which each set of coordinate data were collected. In order for the calculation to be accurate and timely, the data must be current. Accordingly, the user may cause a message to be sent from thebase station 18 to theobject locator 42 to designate the number, N, of coordinate and time data sets to be taken and used in the calculation of the direction and rate of movement of theobject locator 42. When theobject locator 42 receives the previously described message from thebase station 18, the flow described inFIG. 6 a begins atstart block 220. - The flow in
FIG. 6 a begins with start block 220 wherein a preformatted message indicating the number, N, of required samples of location and rate of movement data is sent from thebase station 18 to theobject locator 42. In this case, the GPS receiver is enabled atblock 226 and begins to acquire coordinates inblock 228. Since theobject locator 42 in this illustrative example is already beyond the predetermined limit the decision block 229 passes the flow to block 230. The flow then proceeds to adecision block 233 wherein a counter provides for a predetermined number, N, of coordinate and time data sets to be stored and saved inmemory 68. The minimum required number of coordinate and time data sets to make a calculation of direction and rate of movement, of course, is two. However, in many cases a greater value for N may provide more accurate, timely results. When the counter ofblock 233 reaches the predetermined value of N that is required, the flow proceeds to block 235 wherein data previously collected and stored inmemory 68 is accessed and processed to determine the direction and rate of movement of theobject locator 42 and then, flowing to block 237, the resulting direction and rate calculations are stored inmemory 68. The flow then proceeds to block 232 where thecontroller 66 operates to disable theGPS receiver 78. Following the disabling of theGPS receiver 78 inblock 232, the flow proceeds to block 234 wherein theobject locator 42 provides the direction and rate of movement data onoutput terminal 98 alongpath 96 to thedata input 94 of thepaging transmitter 92. The direction and rate of movement information is then transmitted via the twoway paging system 12 to thebase station 18 shown inFIG. 1 . Messages reporting direction of movement are preformatted to transmit a symbol, such as an arrow, representing the direction of motion of the object locator in addition to alpha-numeric characters showing location. - Referring now to
FIG. 6 b, there is illustrated a flow chart to provide for reporting the return of theobject locator 42 to within the predetermined limit after initially going beyond the limit. This embodiment is very similar to that shown inFIG. 6 and shows functional block which have the same functions and reference numbers—withFIG. 6 . Upon either a base station query or a timed sequence (or duty cycle) query,decision block 229 outputs a negative result when theobject locator 42 is now within the predetermined limit. The flow proceeds to decision block 231 to determine whether theobject location 42 has previously been beyond the limit. If the result is affirmative, the flow proceeds toblocks object locator 42 reports, via a preformatted message retrieved frommemory 68, to thebase station 18 that theobject locator 42 is now within the predetermined limits, i.e., the pet animal or object has returned close to the base station. The report may be indicated at thebase station 18 by a symbol or other characters associated with the information. If, however, the determination is made that the object locator was not previously beyond the predetermined limit, the flow proceeds along the N path to theblock 239, the counter which regulates the number of trials for recognizing a beyond limit condition. Upon reaching the predetermined count inblock 239 the flow proceeds to block 241 where a message “object locator is still within the limit” is issued to thebase station 18. - In describing the use of the
object locator 42 there are defined four concentric geographic regions. In the center is the immediate vicinity of thebase station 18 or near range which may, for example, be roughly equivalent to the residential yard of the owner of a pet that wears an object locator. Next is the active range of theobject locator 42, separated from the near range by a predetermined inside perimeter or limit. Just beyond the outer portion of the active range, bordered by an outside perimeter defined by a weak, predetermined signal, is the outer range within which the object locator operation is marginally capable of reliably providing location information. The report to thebase station 18 of locations within this outer range may be accompanied by a preformatted message specific to this circumstance. For example, such a message in this instance might state: “The last known position and heading (of the object or pet) is” followed by the coordinates and information about the heading. The last geographic region, beyond the outer range and defined by the loss of signal from thebase station 18, is the far range, where the object locator is unable to provide location information. Of primary interest then, are the predetermined inside perimeter limit and the predetermined outside perimeter limit, between which lies the active, reliable range of the object locator. The inside perimeter will depend, in general, upon the resolution parameters of theGPS system 50. The outside perimeter may, generally, be defined by a signal strength parameter such as the reception strength of a beacon signal. - Referring now to
FIG. 7 , there is illustrated a pictorial block diagram of one configuration for providing a predetermined limit signal to theobject locator 42. Shown inFIG. 7 is abase station 18 coupled with itsantenna 126 through acable 128 and operating to produce a signal which is radiated according to the radiation pattern characteristic of theantenna 126 of the base station. Also shown inFIG. 7 is anobject locator 42 which includes asignal detector block 120 coupled to anantenna 122 through acable 124. It will be noted that thebase station 18 is operating in a transmit mode and theobject locator 42 is operating in a receive mode viaantenna 122. Theobject locator 42, by comparing, the received signal strength of the signal transmitted by the base station fromantenna 126 with a reference signal stored within thesignal detector 120, may determine whether it is near or far from thebase station 18. It is presumed in this example that the signal strength measured between thebase station 18 and theobject locator 42 falls off in a predictable manner as compared with the distance that separates theobject locator 42 from thebase station 18. It will be appreciated that this technique may be used to define a predetermined inside perimeter limit signal that defines when (or where) the object locator is to begin providing location information as the animal or object wearing theobject locator 42 moves away from thebase station 18. This technique may also be used to indicate when the object locator has moved or is moving—past an outside perimeter, beyond the useful range of theobject locator 42. - Continuing with
FIG. 7 , an alternative to comparing the limit signal with a reference value is to simply utilize the signal-to-noise characteristics of the receiver in theobject locator 42. When it is no longer possible to acquire or capture the signal from thebase station 18, a limit is thereby provided. The limit may be adjusted simply by adjusting the base station signal strength. By way of illustration, a predetermined limit may thus be established by controlling the signal strength of thebase station 18 signal such that at animaginary boundary 130 such as a predetermined outside perimeter surroundingbase station 18 is defined. The signal strength is of a sufficiently low value which can just be detected by thesignal detector 120 in theobject locator 42 at theimaginary boundary 130. Thus, if theobject locator 42antenna 122 is greater than a distance indicated by the radius “r” from thebase station 18, then no signal will be detected (or it will be below an acceptable threshold) and theobject locator 42 is presumed to be beyond the predetermined outside perimeter limit represented by the distance “r”, which may also be thought of as an acceptance radius. If, however, theobject locator 42 receives or detects the signal emitted by the base station 18 (or it is above the predetermined threshold), then it is presumed that theantenna 122 of theobject locator 42 is within the radius “r” and theobject locator 42 may, at that point, be activated to acquire location information from theGPS system 50 and report it to thebase station 18. - Referring now to
FIG. 8 , there is illustrated a block diagram including features which may be implemented in thebase station 18 to process the location information received from theobject locator 42 overpath 305. In the one embodiment shown inFIG. 8 , thebase station 302 includes apaging receiver 304 which has a receiving antenna 306 coupled to thepaging receiver 304 by a cable 308. The output ofpaging receiver 304 is supplied at anoutput 310 alongpath 312 to aninput 314 of aprocessor 316 which receives and processes the location information for output or display. In the illustrative example ofFIG. 8 , the information is stored along apath 318 in aregister 320 from which the information can be retrieved alongpath 322 by theprocessor 316 for output at terminal 324 alongpath 326 to theinput 328 of adata display 330. In this simple example illustrated by the block diagram ofFIG. 8 , the location information is processed for display as data which may be in the form of degrees of longitude and latitude, the names of the closest major street intersections or in terms of polar coordinates such as an azimuth heading and a distance between thebase station 302 and theobject locator 42. - Referring now to
FIG. 9 , there is illustrated an alternate embodiment showing abase station 350 which includes apaging receiver 304. Pagingreceiver 304 receives location information transmitted byobject locator 42 overpath 305 to the antenna 306 of thepaging receiver 304 along cable 308. Pagingreceiver 304 is coupled from anoutput 352 alongpath 354 to aninput 356 ofprocessor 358 in thebase station 350.Processor 358 may also have access to aregister 380 alongpath 378 from which theprocessor 358 may further obtain stored location information alongpath 382 fromregister 380. Such location information is, of course, available from theGPS receiver 368 which is coupled at anoutput 370 alongpath 372 to aninput 374 toprocessor 358. ThisGPS receiver 368 is part ofbase station 350 and enables thebase station 350 to provide an enhanced display of the location information obtained from theobject locator 42. - Continuing with
FIG. 9 , there is shown aGPS display 366 that obtains data concerning the location coordinates fromprocessor 358 at anoutput 360 which flows alongpath 362 to an input to theGPS display 366 atinput 364. TheGPS display 366 is configured to provide a map of the area that includes both thebase station 350 and theobject locator 42, and thus display the relative position of each component of theobject locator system 10 with respect to the other. As is typical with GPS display units, a map may be shown with streets or thoroughfares indicated thereon and indicia included in the display showing the respective location of thebase station 350 and of theobject locator 42. - Referring now to
FIG. 10 , there is shown a flowchart of the operation of the combined units of theobject locator system 10 of the present disclosure as illustrated inFIG. 1 . The flow begins atblock 402 where the routine starts and thereupon flows to a block 404 in which thebase station 18 requests location information by paging theobject locator 42. In this block 404, thebase station 18 transmits a request for location information to theobject locator 42. The flow proceeds from block 404 to block 412 where theobject locator 42 proceeds through the sequence to enable theGPS receiver 78 in order to obtain new location coordinate information. Thereupon the flow proceeds to ablock 406 wherein theobject locator 42 checks its own memory see, for example, the block diagram of theobject locator 42 shown inFIG. 4 whereupon the flow proceeds to block 408 where theobject locator 42 determines whether, in fact, there are coordinates in its memory. If the result is in the affirmative, then the flow proceeds along the “Y” path to ablock 410 where a determination is made by theobject locator 42 whether the coordinates stored in its memory are current. If the result inblock 410 is affirmative, then the flow proceeds along the “Y” path to ablock 420 where theobject locator 42 will fetch the coordinate information from itsmemory 68 shown inFIG. 4 and set up theobject locator 42 to transmit the coordinates to the base station in ablock 422. Thereupon the flow proceeds to ablock 424 wherein thebase station 18 makes a determination as to whether it has received the requested coordinate information from theobject locator 42. If the result is affirmative, then the flow proceeds along the “Y” path to ablock 428 where thebase station 18 proceeds to output or display the coordinate information to the user at thebase station 18. Thereupon, the flow proceeds fromblock 428 to ablock 430 wherein the routine ends. - Returning to block 424 of
FIG. 10 , if thebase station 18 determines that it did not receive the coordinate information as requested, then the flow proceeds to block 426 along the “N” path to adecision block 426. Inblock 426, thebase station 18 determines whether the most recent page of theobject locator 42 was, in fact, the last attempt permitted within the protocol for the base station −E operation. If the result is affirmative, then the flow proceeds along the “Y” path to block 418 where theobject locator 42 operates to disable theGPS receiver 78 so that it no longer uses power from thebattery 70 of theobject locator 42 and thereafter proceeds to block 430 where the routine ends. If, however, the result of the determination inblock 426 was negative, then the flow returns to the start of the routine at the input to block 404 where thebase station 18 re-attempts to page theobject locator 42. - Returning now to block 408 in
FIG. 10 , theobject locator 42 checks to determine whether location coordinate information is, in fact, in thememory 68 of theobject locator 42. If the result is negative, the flow proceeds along the “N” path to block 414 where theobject locator 42 acquires the new coordinate information and, as previously described, proceeds inblock 416 to store the new coordinate information inmemory 68 of theobject locator 42. The flow then returns to the input ofblock 412 wherein theGPS receiver 78 is enabled. - The above noted object location system was disclosed as being utilized in conjunction with a pet, such that the pet owner can determine the location of their wayward pet. The locator, as described hereinabove, in one embodiment, is triggered to determine the location of the pet in response to receiving a signal from a paging system. The paging system utilizes existing infrastructure in order to direct a message over a wireless link to a moving object, such as the pet. This only requires the inclusion of a paging receiver tuned to the frequency of the paging transmitters. Of course, there are multiple paging transmitters disposed about any given area. If the pet wandered outside of the range of all of these paging transmitters, then the system will not work. This would then, in the alternative, require a direct RF link to the pet.
- Once the
object locator 42 has received the request, thelocator 42 will do one of two things. First, it could merely search its own memory to determine if location coordinates are stored therein from a previous acquisition operation of the GPS system. If so, these could be transmitted back to the requester. Alternatively the GPS system is turned on in response to receiving the request and then the location determined. Of course, as described hereinabove, there are provisions made for situations wherein the GPS system cannot be acquired. - When the information is to be transmitted back to the user, the disclosed embodiment sets forth the use of a two-way pager. These two-way pagers are desirable in that they make use of the existing infrastructure of the paging system. This is facilitated by the inclusion of a plurality of receivers at each of the paging towers or paging “sticks” which allow the signal to be received and forwarded back to a central station. This central station then processes the information received and forwards it to the user. This information, as described hereinabove, is in the form of coordinates. This coordinate information can then be relayed back to the user in any number of ways. It could actually be forwarded via a paging channel to the user, which might result in a latency of approximately two to five minutes. Alternatively, it could be transmitted directly to the user, providing there was such an infrastructure. This infrastructure could even incorporate the use of a cellular telephone system. In any event, it is necessary to have the coordinates relayed back to the user in order to determine the relative location of the user and the wayward pet. The two-way system that can be utilized is a conventional system, one example of such a conventional system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,971, issued Jan. 13, 1998, entitled “TWO-WAY PAGING SYSTEM AND APPARATUS,” which is incorporated herein by reference.
- Referring now to
FIG. 11 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of an object or pet locator of the present disclosure. Theobject locator 500 comprises three major circuit blocks, acontroller 502, aGPS receiver 504 and acommunication transceiver 506. Included incontroller 502 which may be a standard type microcontroller or microprocessor, is amemory 508.Memory 508 may include random access memory (RAM), non-volatile RAM or some form of read-only memory (ROM).Controller 502 further includes alocation data port 510 for receiving location data fromGPS receiver 504.Controller 502 also includes afirst communication port 512 for exchanging data withcommunication transceiver 506.Controller 502 further includes athird communication port 514 for exchanging data with aninfrared data port 562 or anRF data port 564. The data is exchanged between thethird communication port 514 along abidirectional data bus 560 which couples thethird communication port 514 with adata bus selector 566 which selects between adata bus 560A coupled toinfrared data port 562 or couples viadata bus 560B toRF data port 564. Also coupled tocontroller 502 is arechargeable battery 516 which may receive energy during recharging fromsolar cell 552 which is coupled along apath 554 to acharging circuit 556 which in turn is coupled to therechargeable battery 516 along apath 558. Power from therechargeable battery 516 is coupled alongpath 568 which includes anSPST switch 570 in series withpath 568 for controlling the application of power to a terminal 571 on thecontroller 568. Power is connected from the terminal 571 to theGPS receiver 504 and thecommunications transceiver 506 along a path not shown inFIG. 11 for clarity. Alternatively, the chargingcircuit 556 may be configured otherwise than with connection to asolar cell 552. For example, chargingcircuit 556 may be a mechanical electric generator actuated by moments ofobject locator 500 when attached to a wearer of theobject locator 500. - Continuing further with
FIG. 11 , theGPS receiver 504 receives signals at aninput 518 from a patch antenna 520 via apath 522. The output of theGPS receiver 504 is coupled from anoutput 524 along apath 526 to an input terminal of thelocation data port 510 withincontroller 502.GPS receiver 504 is enabled by a control signal originating withincontroller 502 and coupled from anoutput 550 along apath 544 to an enable terminal ofGPS receiver 504. Thecommunication transceiver 506 includes aduplexor 534 which interfaces between thetransmitter 530 andreceiver 532 portions of thecommunication transceiver 506 and adual mode antenna 536 via atransmission line 538.Duplexor 534 provides the interface between the respective transmit and receive modes during the operation ofcommunication transceiver 506, enabling thecommunication transceiver 506 to use acommon antenna 536. Thetransmitter portion 530 ofcommunication transceiver 506 is enabled for its operation along apath 546 originating incontroller 502 and coupled from anoutput 550 to an enable terminal ontransmitter 530. Similarly, thereceiver portion 532 ofcommunication transceiver 506 is enabled by a control signal originating withincontroller 502 and coupled from the control outputs 550 along apath 548 to an enable terminal ofreceiver 532. The signal outputs fromcommunication transceiver 506 are coupled from thereceiver 532 via asecond communication port 540 along apath 542 to an input of thefirst communication port 512 withincontroller 502. Signals to be transmitted, originating withincontroller 502 are coupled fromfirst communication port 512 along thebidirectional data path 542 to an input terminal of thesecond communication port 540 coupled therefrom into thetransmitter 530 withincommunication transceiver 506. - Continuing with
FIG. 11 , adisplay 564 is provided to display data coupled along apath 566 from thecontroller 502. Thedisplay 564 may be typically a liquid crystal display having a capability of a small number of lines of text or symbols. Thedisplay 564 may be caused to access data withincontroller 502 by the use of areadout control 568 which is coupled to the display along apath 570.Readout control 568 may be used to activate or deactivate the display, to scroll through various lines of data available for display or to select particular information to be displayed. Also coupled tocontroller 502 is atest button 572 via apath 574 which enables the user to manually actuate theobject locator 500 to cause an operational test according to a routine stored withincontroller 502 to check various selected functions of theobject locator 500. Another device coupled tocontroller 502 includes amagnetic compass 576 which provides an output signal along a path 578 to thecontroller 502 to provide information regarding the direction or heading of successive coordinate positions obtained and reported by theobject locator 500. Asignal detector 580 provides an output along a path 582 to thecontroller 502 when a parameter of the RE signals received by theobject locator 500 exceed a predetermined threshold for the purpose of determining whether or not theobject locator 500 is within or outside of the useful operating range or to define the minimum distance of the base station location before which theobject locator 500 is not enabled to operate and obtain location coordinate data because the object locator or the pet locator is attached to an object or a pet animal which is very close to the base station and, for example, line of sight distances short enough for accurate and ready visual location of the object or pet. - It will be appreciated that in some implementations of the object locator embodiment illustrated in
FIG. 11 that all of the features shown will be useful in the particular application. However, in other applications it will be appropriate to select some but not all of the available features shown inFIG. 11 . ThusFIG. 11 represents a composite embodiment of theobject locator 500 with a selection of typical features to illustrate some of the possible functions that may be accomplished with theobject locator 500 of the present disclosure. In operation the various features illustrated inFIG. 11 may be useful in the following ways. For example, thememory 508 incontroller 502 may contain information as to the wearer's name, it's home address, a contact telephone number, vaccination status, veterinarian name and any other pertinent information that would be appropriate for anobject locator 500 worn by a pet animal. In some applications a program incontroller 502 may be organized to store a portion of the operational data in a non-volatile memory withinmemory 508 for purposes of data backup. Similarly, location and associated time data may be stored for recall during operations which calculate direction and rate of movement information for transmitting to the base station along with the current coordinate information. The information stored inmemory 508 such as the wearer's name, home address, contact telephone number, vaccination status, veterinarian's name and the like may also be output to thedisplay 564 by operation of thereadout control 568. This particular feature enables someone who finds the pet animal wearingobject locator 500 to access the information stored within theobject locator memory 508 and take appropriate action to return the pet to its owner or to render assistance to the pet if such assistance is indicated. - Continuing further with
FIG. 11 , one of the functions of thesignal detector 580 is to provide an indication when the object locator is about to move beyond its normal range of operation with respect to the base station and send a message to the base station indicating that theobject locator 500 is about to become out of communication with the base station. In another mode, theobject locator 500 is enabled to send a message to the base station if the satellite signal is lost, that is, theGPS receiver 504 is no longer receiving location information transmissions from the global satellite system. In this event, for anobject locator 500 that is equipped with amagnetic compass 576, themagnetic compass 576 may be activated to send direction information to the base station if the satellite signal is lost thereby providing information as to the last known location and heading of theobject locator 500. - Continuing with
FIG. 11 , theinfrared data port 562 and theRF data port 564 are provided to write or read data to or from thememory 508 incontroller 502 via thethird communication port 514. It will be appreciated that theinfrared data port 562 may typically include an optical transducer which is not shown for clarity and associated interfacing circuitry also not shown between the optical transducer and thecontroller 502. The optical transducer and the associated interface circuitry are well known in the art and will not be further described herein. As an example of the operation, data may be downloaded from theobject locator 500 via theinfrared data port 562 as an alternative to sending a communication command from the base station to theobject locator 500. Similarly, data may also be downloaded from theobject locator 500 through theRE data port 564 as an alternate technique. As another example, data may be uploaded to the object locator through either theinfrared data port 562 or theRE data port 564 by appropriately selecting thedata bus selector 562 to couple the data to thethird communication port 514 incontroller 502. - In the illustrative example disclosed herein, a pet owner desiring to use the pet locator contacts and subscribes to a paging service and obtains a two-way paging transceiver or, “pager,” which may or may not be included in the purchase price of the pet locator. The owner with the pager becomes the host or base station. The pet locator is attached to the pet and the pet locator energized, typically by a switch on the pet locator assembly to activate the pet locator. The owner defines a designated enclosed area substantially surrounding the location of the host, e.g., a residence lot. The center of this enclosed area may be called an origin. This designation allows the pet locator to become active only when it is outside or beyond the perimeter of the designated enclosed area, where it can obtain location information about its location from the global positioning satellite system and communicate it to the host. Reports of location data may be transmitted automatically at regular intervals under the control of the pet locator or, alternatively it may be transmitted upon a request transmitted from the host or base station. An advantage of the “automatic reporting” pet locator system of the present disclosure is that once the user or pet owner becomes a subscriber to the paging system (any conventional two-way paging system will suffice) and installs and energizes, i.e., activates the pet locator by defining a designated area, no other action is required other than to observe the readout of the location data at the host location or base station. The installation procedure designates or enters the location of the host and defines the boundary or perimeter of the designated area. The boundary of the designated area may be set by entering the coordinates of a single location, e.g., the farthest or other corner of the user's residence property or even a central location. Thus the designated area will approximate, for example, a circle centered at the host location and having a radius equal to the distance from the center at the specified single coordinate location to the perimeter of the circle defining the range of error or position uncertainty which is provided by the GPS system along with the location data. The boundary of the designated area may also be set by the owner entering the coordinates of a plurality of location points to designate a specific area or perhaps, a non-circular area. It will be appreciated that the advantage of owner-entered coordinates is that only a minimum number of points need be entered, memory size in the pet locator is minimized thus lowering the cost, and set-up operation is straightforward and simple. One example of a designated area might resemble the circular area shown in
FIG. 7 where theboundary 130 encloses the designated area having a specified radius. - Although the preferred embodiment has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made therein. For example, the object locator disclosed hereinabove is intended to be useable in a variety of applications for locating or tracking an individual, an object or an animal, either wild, domestic or a pet. Thus the term pet locator is intended to apply to the above variety of applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims (11)
1-25. (canceled)
26. A system for locating an animate object beyond a designated area, comprising:
a wireless bidirectional communication system;
a first transceiver operable as a base station in said communication system to receive and display location information and transmit command signals; and
a locating device enclosed in a housing configured to be attached to said animate object and operable as a mobile station in said communication system to respond to said commands and, upon activation, to automatically obtain location information and transmit said location information to said first transceiver, said locating device further comprising:
a controller having an input for location data and a first communication port;
a satellite navigation system receiver coupled to a first antenna and having a location data output coupled to said location data input of said controller; and
a second transceiver coupled to a second antenna for receiving and transmitting communications between said locating device and said first transceiver and having a second communication port coupled to said first communication port of said controller, and,
a data entry device operatively associated with said base station for enabling entry of said commands, data or information related to locating said mobile object beyond said designated area, said commands, data or information communicated via said first transceiver to said controller,
wherein said controller is automatically activated, in response to a received command signal, to obtain location information of said animate object; and, transmit, via said second transceiver device, said location information to said first transceiver when a location of said animate object is determined to exceed said designated area.
27. The system of claim 26 , wherein first transceiver comprises:
a receiver interfaced to a first antenna via a duplexer during a reception mode to receive location data from said locating device via said communication system, and
a transmitter interfaced to said first antenna via said duplexer during a transmission mode to transmit said commands to said locating device via said communication system.
28. The system of claim 26 , wherein said base station includes a fixed base station or a mobile base station.
29. The system of claim 26 , wherein said satellite navigation system receiver comprises:
a receiving device having an RF input coupled to said first antenna;
an enable input to receive an activation signal; and
a location data output coupled to said controller to provide a location data signal; wherein said satellite navigation system receiver is configured to receive and process navigation signals to provide said location data signal.
30. The system of claim 29 , wherein said navigation signals comprise: differential GPS signals to enable determination of location data signals.
31. A method for locating an animate object beyond a designated area, comprising:
providing a first transceiver device operable as a base station in a wireless bidirectional communication system, said base station for receiving and displaying location information and transmitting commands; and
attaching, to said animate object, a locating device enclosed in a housing configured and operable as a mobile station in said communication system to respond to said commands,
said locating device further comprising:
a controller having an input for location data and a first communication port;
a satellite navigation system receiver coupled to a first antenna and having a location data output coupled to said location data input of said controller; and
a second transceiver coupled to a second antenna for receiving and transmitting communications between said locating device and said first transceiver and having a second communication port coupled to said first communication port of said controller, and,
entering, via a data entry device operatively associated with said base station, commands, data or information related to locating said mobile object beyond said designated area; and,
communicating to said controller, via said first transceiver device and said communication system, said commands, data or information related to locating said mobile object beyond said designated area; and,
automatically activating said controller, in response to a received command signal, to obtain location information of said animate object; and,
automatically transmitting, via said second transceiver device, said location information to said first transceiver when a location of said animate object is determined to exceed said designated area.
32. The method of claim 31 , wherein first transceiver comprises:
a receiver interfaced to a first antenna via a duplexer during a reception mode to receive location data from said locating device via said communication system, and
a transmitter interfaced to said first antenna via said duplexer during a transmission mode to transmit said commands to said locating device via said communication system.
33. The method of claim 31 , wherein said base station includes a fixed base station or a mobile base station.
34. The method of claim 31 , further comprising:
receiving, at an enable input of said satellite navigation system receiver, an activation signal associated with a received command signal; and
receiving, at said satellite navigation system receiver, navigation signals and processing said navigation signals to provide a location data output signal; and,
coupling said location data output signal to said controller via said location data input.
35. The method of claim 34 , wherein said navigation signals comprise: differential GPS signals to enable determination of location data.
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